Good Night Out Vancouver's newest campaign is crowdfunding is to bring in the special coasters that can reveal whether a drink contains ketamine or GHB (gamma-hydroxybutyrate) — two drugs commonly used to commit sexual assault.

The group hasn't seen the coasters used in Canadian clubs or know of a Canadian supplier, so it is ordering the coasters from an American supplier, Drink Safe Technologies, who created the special test strip.

The company has a minimum order requirement 500 coasters, which will come to around $625.

"It is so simple," said Bevan. "Take one or two drops and you put it on the coaster and the coaster can detect [the drug]."

Bevan's group also performs audits for interested clubs where her volunteers observe how staff interact with patrons, whether water is provided, whether it's left in the open.

"After we present the information to them, it's all private. We offer them a train-the-trainer to deal with and recognize what harassment looks like."

Drug-detecting tools controversial

While the campaign has been positively received — they have raised close to 70 per cent of the fundraising goal — these kind of drug-detecting tools have been the subject of controversy before.

Good Night Out Vancouver acknowledged this criticism on its crowdfunding website, saying these devices "often make problematic assumptions about women being responsible for the prevention of sexual assault."

However, it added the coasters are just one of the many tools it can use until there is a more meaningful cultural shift to end sexual assault.